JENNINGS GOES ON THE RECORD.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Mason Jennings tells a good story, a talent that may stem from his voracious appetite for books.

The singer-songwriter, who built a national audience on the strength of steady touring and a string of distinctive albums, discusses Toni Morrison, Joseph Campbell and Sylvia Plath as easily as he dissects the latest Neil Young album or George Harrison's ``All Things Must Pass.''

Jennings has kept his head above water, but under the mainstream radar, since 1998, self-releasing four albums that sold 100,000 copies in all. Turning down major-label overtures, he was content to pay bills and grow a substantial fan base on his own terms -- with help from college radio and the well-trod indie touring circuit.

``I kept watching the business changing, and it didn't know which way to turn -- should we embrace downloads, should we sue everyone that does it, should we release vinyl again?'' the Minneapolis-based Jennings, 31, said. ``I just kept trying to adapt. I'm lucky because I like being on the road. As long as I don't have to play the same songs every night, I'm OK.''

After warming up on tour for the imaginative alt-rock combo Modest Mouse, Jennings signed with Mouse frontman Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace Records, a subsidiary of Epic/Sony. The result is ``Boneclouds,'' Jennings' fifth disc and major-label debut. Its 10 songs add up to a succinct 40 minutes -- and both Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone put it on their must-have lists.

`I hate when I have to turn off a record because I don't have time to listen to the whole thing -- so I decided to make an album that can be easily digested in one sitting,'' said Jennings, who appears tonight at the Avalon in Hollywood (Teddy Thompson, son of folk royalty Richard and Linda Thompson, opens) and noon Saturday for a set at Tower Records on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

Lyrically, some of Jennings' current songs deal with fatherhood (he has two young sons) and spirituality (``Jesus Are You Real''). His delivery has sometimes been compared to that of Ryan Adams or Jeff Buckley.

``Being a father has opened my heart more, but there are more risks involved,'' the singer said. ``It's a frightening world, and the stakes are suddenly higher.''

Despite his recognizable last name, Mason Jennings is not the son of outlaw country stars Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. That's Shooter Jennings -- and it's a mix-up Mason encountered before he even knew of Shooter's existence.

``I was doing this radio interview and the DJ kept asking me how old I was when my father died,'' Jennings recalled. ``I had no idea what he was getting at. Then, he started asking me if Waylon was a major influence on my songs. I had to stop him and ask what the heck was going on. That's when I found out about Shooter Jennings -- but I promise you, there's no relation.''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

[e-mail]

MASON JENNINGS

Where: Avalon, 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood.

When: 8 tonight (Teddy Thompson opens).

Tickets: $22. [phone]; ticketmaster.com.

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Mason Jennings: ``I hate when I have to turn off a record because I don't have time to listen to the whole thing -- so I decided to make an album that can be easily digested in one sitting.''